


Too Late

by sstwins



Series: Ever After High Flash Fiction [25]
Category: Ever After High
Genre: Angst, F/F, classic future angst lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 03:02:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11152872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sstwins/pseuds/sstwins
Summary: If things had turned out differently, maybe Apple and Darling could have been happy. But sometimes, happily ever after just isn’t destined to be.This story is placed in the far future!





	Too Late

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a randomly generated sentence from an RP generator, ‘Apple and Darling meeting after they haven’t seen each other in a very long time.’

“Apple.”

“Darling.” Apple knew that it must be her, even though the girl looked different than she had so many years ago. She was more hardened. A long scar ran across her cheek, and her eyes seemed duller than they had before. Her hair was matted, and her armor was scratched. But Apple must have looked different too.

She suddenly felt self-conscious in her bright, golden dress, like a light that was shining too brightly given the circumstances. Darling blended in perfectly with the dungeon walls, but Apple stood out, like a pretty queen who was above it all.

“I expect you know why you’re here,” Apple finally said, after a pause that seemed to last a hundred years.

Darling turned away, bitterly. “I’m here because I helped people.”

“Darling, no,” Apple explained softly. “What you did wasn’t helping. It was making things worse.” She sighed deeply. “You have to understand, things are better when there’s order-”

“I was just trying to keep people from having to suffer-”

“Rebels,” Apple snapped, “are not people! Not until they learn what’s right!”

She’d spoken too sharply, too cruel. The dungeon air felt damp and claustrophobic. And all Apple White wanted to do was run back upstairs to her throne room, but she couldn’t, because a queen could stand her ground. Especially in front of an outcast.

After glaring at her for a few moments, Darling looked away again. “And you wonder why I didn’t want to be with you,” she mumbled, almost too quietly for Apple to hear.

But Apple still heard. And it still hurt. “I could have been good to you,” Apple whispered. “I would have been. But you didn’t want to stay-”

“I couldn’t stay-”

“No, you chose to leave! You chose to ruin everything by going off and helping other people to bring chaos to everything that’s good in Ever After!” Without even realizing it, Apple had started yelling again. She took in a deep breath to try and calm down. By chance, she caught Darling’s eye. Even though she was hardened, nothing could remove that slight bit of gentleness that Apple had craved so much when she’d been young, that shine of light and love. “It’s not too late,” Apple murmured, reaching out for Darling’s cheek, but the girl turned away.

“It was too late from the start.”

“Darling…” Apple tried to reach out again, but Darling had moved to face the damp wall, and Apple knew that nothing she could say would make any difference. Slowly, Apple walked away, past the bars and up the stairs back to civilization. The only way that she could ever hope to fix things with Darling would be to give in to the Rebels, and Apple could never do that. Not even for true love’s kiss.


End file.
